Agricultural and Fishery Council (AFC) leaders across southern Mindanao aligned strategies to clear operational roadblocks, fast-track fund releases, and advance policy reforms to spur agri-fishery growth during their planning workshop here on September 8 to 10, 2026, in Davao City.
The three-day review brought together 60 Regional and Provincial AFC chairpersons, Department of Agriculture regional field office representatives, and budget and accounting officers from Davao Region, SOCCSKSARGEN, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to reconcile ground-level performance targets and harmonize their FY 2027 program and budget priorities.
“To perform at our best, we must foresee challenges, articulate our operational risks, and address them with precision,” said PCAF Officer-in-Charge Deputy Executive Director Cyril Soliaban.
“When we strengthen our AFCs, we build an agri-fishery sector that truly answers to its people. The Councils ensure that the lived experiences of our grassroots stakeholders actively direct national resources where they matter most,” he added.
The activity’s main objective was to institutionalize accountability by evaluating their physical achievements alongside with the financial resources utilized. During the activity, the AFCs, together with their regional coordinators and budget officers, evaluated the physical and financial performance of the region vis-a-vis their committed FY 2026 programs, activities, and projects.
Meanwhile, Davao Region RAFC Executive Officer and DA Regional Field Office XI Chief of the Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Division, Maria Febe Orbe highlighted the vital role of sustained civic engagement in turning regional plans into tangible harvests. She said that genuine public-private collaboration ensures agricultural initiatives remain responsive, inclusive, and tailored to the unique economic landscape of Mindanao’s farming and fishing communities.
Discussions and agreements
The discussion kicked off with the stories of stakeholder impact presentation from the RAFC Chairpersons of the three regions. They presented their respective notable accomplishments with the corresponding budget utilization.
PCAF Partnership Development Division Chief Catherine Viray discussed the Councils’ accomplishments, while consolidated Participatory Monitoring and Tracking (PMT) findings and FY 2027 plan and budget based on the national expenditure program were also presented.
According to the 2026 PMT report, over 80 percent of agricultural interventions monitored across the Davao Region are fully functional and directly benefiting local agri-fishery communities. The PMT team validated a total of 88 DA-funded projects valued at PhP545.85 million in the said region. The operational breakdown includes:
- Fully utilized: 72 projects valued at PhP387.32 million
- Fully utilized with Issues: 9 projects valued at PhP132.97 million
- For utilization: 5 projects valued at PhP21.12 million
- Not utilized: 2 projects valued at PhP4.44 million
- Underutilized or Non-existent: 0 projects
In the report, beneficiaries highlighted that provided machinery, post-harvest facilities, and farm-to-market roads have substantially lowered transport costs, boosted crop production, and supported sustainable operations for local farmer associations. Meanwhile, overall monitoring data and utilization statuses for SOCCSKSARGEN remain to be confirmed as part of the succeeding evaluation phases within the Mindanao B cluster.
Additionally, the PMT will conduct revalidation across the three regions to ensure that issues identified in previous monitoring activities have been fully resolved.
On the other hand, to institutionalize data-backed monitoring, Institutional Development Officer Gabriel Sarangaya oriented the participants on mainstreaming Philippine Rural Development Project tools, such as the digital badge system, value chain analysis, and geo-mapping. Regional accountants and budget officers also conducted break-out reconciliation sessions led by Accounting Section Chief Maria Divina Gonzales to assess fund transfers and address disbursement backlogs.
In the workshop proper, the participants discussed the operational gaps that exist between the Municipal AFCs and the RAFCs, which is one of the causes why grassroots encounter issues and challenges.
The delegates per region focused on discussing and recommending mechanisms to elevate municipal voices, streamline communication, and ensure that local farmers, fisherfolk, and underserved communities have a direct hand in shaping regional agri-fishery policies and budget allocations.
- Legislative and operational backing: The consultative bodies resolved to rally behind the proposed Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries Development (PCAFD) Act through formal policy resolutions. Under the proposed PCAFD Act, the agency gains permanent legal standing and a dedicated yearly government budget that cannot easily be defunded or dissolved when political administrations change. This ensures that AFCs receive continuous financial and operational support to advocate for grassroots needs and actively participate in the crafting of agri-fishery policies.
- Personnel compensation and welfare: PCAF committed to working with the DA Legal Service, the Commission on Audit, and the Department of Budget and Management to formalize remuneration for Agricultural Extension Workers (AEWs), coordinators, and fisheries technical personnel. Furthermore, regional coordinator posts will be upgraded from Salary Grade 11 to 15 in the FY 2027 National Expenditure Program, alongside exploratory efforts to provide communication allowances.
- Financial flexibility and timely liquidation: To avoid fund forfeiture from late releases, AFCs agreed to file extension requests for FY 2026 funds by October 2026, optimize allowable balances from FY 2025, and clear fund transfer liquidations directly with regional accountants.
- Capacity building and process enhancement: Newly installed Provincial AFC Chairpersons and Coordinators will undergo mandatory modules on policy drafting and stakeholder mobilization. In addition, the PCAF Monitoring and Evaluation Section agreed to furnish PMT results well in advance of upcoming reviews to allow thorough regional review.
Consolidated outputs and priority agreements will be integrated directly into the plenary agenda of succeeding performance reviews to guarantee that field-level issues receive consistent tracking, funding, and follow-through. | Jezebel Campaniel
